Thursday, 27th–Still lying in camp, and all is quiet.

27th. Thursday. Regt. paid off. Drew pay for Sept. and Oct. On picket. Clothing drawn but not issued. Rainy.

Cedar Bluff, Ala., October 27, 1864.

Waiting here for the 17th Army Corps to get across the Coosa. It is a beautiful little river, not as wide as the Illinois, but has a deeper channel. We are starting on the road to Talladega; don’t even know whether we are starting on a campaign or not. Hood is reported across the Tennessee. We understand that Sherman has men enough to attend to him, and that Sherman intends to use us to Christianize this country. Many think we are now on the way to Montgomery or Selma. River here about 120 yards wide. About a thousand head of our cattle swam across, some of them swam over and back two or three times, and many of the thin ones drowned, for which we were grateful to the drovers as it saved us some very hard chewing.

October 27th.–Slightly hazy and sunshine.

Quiet, save aimless and bootless shelling and picket firing along the lines on the south side of the river.

Hon. Geo. Davis, Attorney-General, to whom was referred the question of the constitutionality of the purposed removal from office of clerks appointed to fill places specifically created by act of Congress previous to the enactment of the Conscript law, without there being alleged against them any misconduct, inefficiency, dishonesty, etc., has reported that as several subsequent acts of Congrees already indicate an intention to put all capable of bearing arms in the army, it is the duty of the President and the Secretary of War to carry out the intentions of Congress, leaving the constitutional question to the decision of the courts! The Constitution they swore upon the holy, etc. to support! Thus, a refugee must either starve his wife and children by relinquishing office, or be disgraced by appealing to the courts!

It is reported that 30,000 of the enemy crossed to this side of the river last night, and that fighting has began at 10 A.M.; but I hear nothing save an occasional report of cannon.

It is said brisk skirmishing is now (12 m.) going on along the lines.

Gen. Cooper and Mr. Secretary Seddon wants Brig.-Gen. R. (Charleston) relieved, for insulting a lady in one of his fits of drunkenness. The President is reluctant to consent.

We have intelligence to-day of gun-boats and transports ascending the Rappahannock River. Another squall from that quarter!

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October 27, 1864.—I certainly do love to go to Uncle Tom’s; I have always loved him and his daughters but the principal attraction just now is the crowd of children who are living with him “until this cruel war is over.” Captain Bernard and Cousin Torn, both brought their families to Uncle Tom, when they enlisted in the army. Cousin Mary Bernard is a beautiful woman and she has four uncommonly good-looking little folks; Bettie, ten years old, is a demure, wee maiden, much smaller than Overton, who is only eight.

Ruby is just the prettiest brunette youngster you ever saw and Jessie, who is only two years old, is perfectly lovely and I love to get her in my arms. But we have a sweet little girl at our house and cousin William and cousin Sarah have two, who are hard to beat, but all of these, like Cousin Mary’s, are quiet children. Cousin Tom and Cousin Frances have six and they interest me greatly. They are not quiet, not they. Such rollicking, frolicking, jolly boys you never saw.

Uncle Tom really adores them but he complains heavily of the liberties they take. No sooner does he settle himself comfortably on the front porch to read the newspaper than they absolutely swarm all over him. If he has a letter to write he runs them off but usually it ends in his rising from that aforesaid comfortable position and going with them to the pasture to catch a horse; to the lot to yoke up some calves to be broken for oxen; to the lake to paddle the canoe or perhaps to catch some fish, anything to get “grandpa,” who is their idol, out in the open with them.

It is in vain that Cousin Frances says “Father, do not let these boys disturb you in this manner, Daniel has nothing to do but look after them.” But she knows all the time that it is his pleasure to humor them.

I love this “rough and tumble” young army; they are like steps when they stand in a row and the eldest one is just a very small boy. I love to take them out of doors and listen to them talk. Yesterday we met at Walnut Hill, to sew and then, of course, we could not play, but the children came around and there was a steady stream of talk. The boys and girls seemed equally proud of the “Soldier Papa” as they called their absent fathers but today they had Christmas on the brain. [continue reading…]

26th.—The armies around Richmond continue quiet. General Early’s second misfortune was very depressing to us all. We are now recovering from it. I trust that God will turn it all to our good. A striking and admirable address from him to his soldiers was in the morning papers. Oh, I trust they will retrieve their fortunes hereafter.

October 26th. All quiet up to early this morning, before daylight, when the long roll sounded out calling us out under arms. It makes much excitement in the dark. We were quickly in line and on the Winchester Pike. In line waiting for orders. After waiting some time, later on, we learned the cause. General Duffield, a cavalry commander, left Winchester last night for Martinsburg, with a small escort. A few miles out on the Pike the General and his escort were captured by Mosby. The General was riding in an ambulance to get sleep and rest. That’s the report as it came to us. That dashing business was carried out on both sides. After a time we returned to our camp. General Duffield is no doubt on his way to Richmond. All is quiet tonight.

Wednesday, 26th.—Heavy cannonading in direction of Decatur. At Summerville at 4 P. M.

(Note: picture is of an unidentified Confederate soldier.)

Wednesday, 26th–The weather is quite pleasant. Nothing of importance. Still in camp. Our work, outside of regular picket duty, is very light here.

26th. Wednesday. In camp. Regt. not picket. Cloudy. Paymaster came.

At Little River again, October 26, 1864.

Got back on the 25th, and have been laying quiet. Our foragers have been skirmishing a good deal with the enemies’ scouts, but few casualties however.

October 26th.–Clear and frosty. Quiet below.

Gen. W. M. Gardner (in Gen. Winder’s place here) has just got from Judge Campbell passports for his cousin, Mary E. Gardner, and for his brother-in-law, F. M. White, to go to Memphis, Tenn., where they mean to reside.

Mr. Benjamin publishes a copy of a dispatch to Mr. Mason, in London, for publication there, showing that if the United States continue the war, she will be unable to pay her debts abroad, and therefore foreigners ought not to lend her any more money, or they may be ruined. This from a Secretary of State! It may be an electioneering card in the United States, and it may reconcile some of our members of Congress to the incumbency of Mr. B. in a sinecure position.

A friend of Mr. Seddon, near Vicksburg, writes for permission to sell thirty bales of cotton–$20,000 worth–to the enemy. He says Mr. Seddon’s estate, on the Sunflower, has not been destroyed by the enemy. That’s fortunate, for other places have been utterly ruined.

Investigations going on in the courts show that during Gen. Winder’s “Reign of Terror,” passports sold for $2000. Some outside party negotiated the business and procured the passport.

Gen. Early has issued an address to his army, reproaching it for having victory wrested out of its hands by a criminal indulgence in the plunder found in the camps captured from the enemy. He hopes they will retrieve everything in the next battle.

Governor Smith’s exemptions of magistrates, deputy sheriffs, clerks, and constables, to-day, 56.

Tuesday, 25th–Still lying in camp. The supply train of the Fifteenth Army Corps returned with rations late this evening, but the supply train of the Seventeenth Corps has not yet come in. It is reported that the army of the Tennessee is going on a march of four hundred miles. The route is supposed to be down through the States of Alabama and Mississippi and then up through to Memphis, Tennessee.^[1] We are to take rations for thirty days and clothing for sixty days. The armies of the Ohio and of the Cumberland, it is said, are to garrison Atlanta^[2] and also to hold the railroad between Atlanta and Nashville. The Twenty-third Army Corps moved out today to Cedar Bluffs.

[1] This was the first hint at “marching through Georgia,” but the camp rumor had it Alabama and Mississippi.—Ed.
[2] We learned later that it was Chattanooga instead of Atlanta, and that the two armies were to be united under the command of General Thomas.—A. G. D.

25th. Tuesday. Teams came up. Seems good. Hurrying up Q. M. papers. Letter from Ella Clark.

Nine miles northwest of Gadsden, Ala.,
October 25, 1864.

Found the Rebels about noon to-day in position behind a rail work, running across from Lookout Mountain to Coosa river. It was only Wheeler’s cavalry, and we blew them out easily. We formed to charge them, but they wouldn’t wait. We followed until we were satisfied there was no infantry behind them, and then settled for the night, and sent out foragers. There was some miserable artillery firing by both sides. Not a dozen men were hurt; only one in our brigade, 100th Indiana.

October 25th.–Bright and beautiful morning.

All quiet below. Mr. McRae has been permitted by Gen. Butler to return again to the city to await his exchange, pledged not to bear arms, etc. Many more of the government employees, forced into the trenches, would be happy to be in the same predicament. A great many are deserting under a deliberate conviction that their rights have been despotically invaded by the government; and that this government is, and is likely to be, as tyrannous as Lincoln’s. No doubt many give valuable information to the enemy.

The Superintendent of the Bureau of Conscription is at open war with the General of Reserves in Virginia, and confusion is likely to be worse confounded.

Gen. Cooper, A. and I. General (Pennsylvanian), suggests to the President the appointment of Gen. Lovell to the command of all the prisons containing Federal captives. Gen. Lovell, too, is a Northern man.

Monday, 24th.—Crossed Sand Mountain at the summit; crossed the road we travelled going to Vicksburg with the wagon trains.

(Note: picture is of an unidentified Confederate soldier.)

Monday, 24th–Still lying in camp and all is quiet at the front. Large foraging parties are being sent out for food for the men and feed for the horses and mules. The valleys in this part of the country are thickly settled, but not more than half of the plantations have been cultivated this past season, as the negroes were taken south by their masters to keep them from falling into the hands of the “Yanks,” and also to help build fortifications. The plantations that have been farmed were put mostly in wheat and corn. There are some large fields of corn which come in very handy for our army at this time.

24th. Monday. Rode to several Hdqrs. with Adj. Pike. Watson and Pearson mustered out. Read papers and letter from home.

Eight miles southeast of last night’s camp,

October 24, 1864.

With five brigades of our corps started at 3.30 p.m. to look after Rebels reported. Came through a little hamlet called Blue Pond from a little lake in the neighborhood of a dirty mud color. Plenty of milk and honey.

October 24th.–Clouds and sunshine. Nothing new of importance from the army.

Gov. Smith has been writing letters to Gen. Lee, asking that Gen. Early be superseded in the Valley. Pity it had not been done! Gen. Lee replied, expressing confidence in Early; and the President (since the disaster!) coincides with Lee.

The President administers a sharp rebuke to Gen. Whiting, for irregularly corresponding with Generals Lee and Beauregard on the subject of Lieut. Taylor Wood’s naval expedition, fitting out at Wilmington.

The President and cabinet are still at work on the one hundred clerks in the departments whom they wish to displace.

I append the result of my gardening this year. The dry weather in May and June injured the crop, or the amount would have been much larger. Total valuation, at market prices, $347.

Circular.] …..Headquarters First Army Corps¹
Near Richmond, Va., October 20, 1864.

…..The attention of the lieutenant-general commanding has been directed to the large number of irresponsible parties wandering about the rear and flanks of the Federal army, who claim to be scouts of the Army of Northern Virginia. They do us no good, but by their practice of violating General Order, Numbers 60, in the robbery and maltreatment of Federal deserters, and by robbing prisoners and citizens, they bring disgrace and detriment to the service.
…..By orders from headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, all parties claiming to be scouts will be arrested who are not authorized by the cavalry commander or whose names are not sent to General Hampton from army headquarters.
…..The lieutenant-general commanding desires you to give such orders as will at once put a stop to this independent scouting. He thinks that two good scouts will be enough for your division and he wishes when you shall have selected them, to send up their names for proper authorization. Let them be specially instructed in their duties, and warned against the malpractices above spoken of. We may thus hope to give some system, order, and responsibility to the performance of the important duty of procuring information of the enemy’s movements.
……………I am, general, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,

G. M. SORREL,
Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Adjutant-General.

(To division commanders.)

1. War of the Rebellion: Serial 089 Page 1155 OPERATIONS IN SE. VA. AND N. C. Chapter LIV.

October 23d. Our regular routine is kept up day after day. A part of the duty of a soldier and laboring man. Everything quiet in this vicinity except reports that come to us about the guerillas. Don’t think they care to come near infantry.

Sunday, 23d–The weather is getting pretty cool mornings, but we have plenty of wood to build fires in front of our shacks. All is quiet in the front. I was relieved from picket this morning. We had company inspection this evening.